This invention relates to an improved method for removing a contaminant comprising arsenic from a hydrocarbonaceous oil, for example a synthetic crude oil such as shale oil.
It is known that contaminants comprising arsenic poison catalysts ordinarily employed in upgrading hydrocarbonaceous oils, particularly hydrocarbon hydrodenitrification catalysts. Customarily, a mixture of hydrogen gas and the oil is contacted with a suitable material in a guard bed, the object being to deposit the arsenic in some form upon the material (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,533, J. A. Meyers; and 4,003,829, E. D. Burger et al). However, I have discovered that a solid comprising arsenic prematurely deposits out of the oil prior to reaching the guard-bed material, with resulting fouling and blocking of feed-transfer lines.
An object of this invention is to prevent fouling and blocking of feed-transfer lines in a process for removing a contaminant comprising arsenic from a hydrocarbonaceous fluid.